"Impossible! I don't know you at all!" Kiana shook her head forcefully, simultaneously darting her eyes around. Then, catching Shu supposedly "not paying attention," she snatched a coat and draped it over herself.
Shu grew even more silent.
That was his flashy white trench coat... He had taken it off and placed it by the bedside last night when trying to sleep. Later, unable to sleep, he ran outside without putting it back on...
Finally wearing enough clothes, Kiana breathed a sigh of relief, then turned back to continue watching Shu warily.
Shu looked silently at Kiana, while Mei, shielded by Bronya, began anxiously explaining to Kiana.
"Kiana, that's Shu! Our captain, our partner! You..."
"Captain?" Kiana frowned. "Hasn't the captain always been you, Mei?"
"Bronya knew it... This person doesn't even know Shu. Sister Mei, do you really know her?"
"Of course I know Kiana! Besides, how could I possibly be the captain!" Mei was so flustered she could barely speak. She quickly moved to the edge of the bed, got off, ran to the incredulous Kiana, and touched her forehead.
Bronya wanted to stop Mei from approaching this "stranger," but seeing Mei's complete lack of reservation, she ultimately lowered her hand.
"Mei, I'm not sick..." Kiana, being cared for by Mei, couldn't help but soften her tone. "But I really don't know him..."
She looked at Shu, who stood silently at the doorway.
In reality, he had already activated his senses, meticulously observing everything around, searching for traces of changes that occurred overnight, etc.
The bed... no signs of change. No new substances appeared in the air. Honkai energy... still the same concentration as everywhere else outside...
No changes whatsoever...
Everyone now realized the problem. The endless stream of strange phenomena, the abnormal behavior of people around them compared to their memories... all pointed to the issue at hand.
"Kiana, do you remember what you said yesterday?" Just then, Mei suddenly remembered a casual remark Kiana made when they first arrived. "Right when we first got here."
"What did I say yesterday...?" Kiana frowned in distress, lowering her head to recall.
Shu and Bronya also showed a hint of confusion.
"It was the sentence..." Mei anxiously hopped twice, as if trying to shake the memory out of her head. "It was..."
"It was '[Is there some curse here that makes people forget things]'! Right, that's the sentence!" After racking her brain for a long time, Mei finally remembered what Kiana had said.
"Eh? Did I say that?" Kiana was shocked. Thinking back carefully, she did indeed have such a memory.
"Wasn't it Shu who said that?" Bronya suddenly questioned.
Shu's eyes widened in shock. He pointed at himself. "Me?"
Would I say something like that? Would I? Only Kiana would say things like 'curse'!
"Wait, Bronya, did you forget everything about me?" Kiana suddenly noticed something amiss. "Then do you remember who rescued you from the zombie's mouth back in Nagazora City?"
Why does that sound like snatching food...
"Right, Bronya, try to remember!"
Hearing Nagazora City, Bronya glanced at Kiana again, then briefly recalled. "Bronya remembers... it was Shu... At that time, Bronya accidentally entered a room locked with many zombies, then Bronya jumped out the window..."
"Then Shu jumped out from the second-floor window of the small shop opposite and brought Bronya back to the shop..."
Both Kiana and Shu couldn't help but widen their eyes, exchanging glances.
"And after that?" Kiana, whose credit was silently stolen, quickly asked again. "What did I... what did Shu do after that?"
"Shu..." Bronya paused for a moment, then spoke with a normal expression. "Shu wanted to strip off Bronya's clothes to check if Bronya was bitten by zombies..."
"I did not," Shu broke his silence, then looked at Kiana and Mei. "Then Mei, do you remember who treated Himeko's wounds back in Nagazora City?"
"It was you..." Mei said hesitantly. "Actually, it was Bronya, right?"
Shu nodded, then finally looked at Kiana. "Kiana, in ARC City, who defeated the Herrscher?"
Kiana blurted out, her confident tone weakening progressively, "It was us following Overseer Otto's plan together... uh... Was it you?"
"It was me..." Shu sighed. "Good, at least we know what problem everyone is facing now..."
Mei forgot Bronya, Bronya forgot Kiana, and Kiana forgot him... Excellent. So who did he forget?
Otto... Damn it, he still remembered this guy.
Theresa, Kallen, Himeko, Fu Hua, and Seele whom he hadn't met yet...
Shu went through everyone from beginning to end, finding he didn't seem to have forgotten anyone... No, wait, Kiana and the others hadn't noticed they forgot anyone either... So could he have unintentionally missed someone already?
Shu gritted his teeth and tried again, finding his memory seemed flawless, unable to find anything amiss.
Just like Kiana and the others' missing memories were filled in by another existing person...
"Mei, you guys help me verify, see if I've forgotten anyone," After experimenting twice, Shu decided to seek external help, letting others sweep through his "flawless" memory.
As name after name came from the trio's mouths, Shu continuously checked his own memory.
He really hadn't missed anyone... Was it because he was special?
Because of his [Hope] and [Wish]? Or because he hadn't slept? Or because of his "Excitement" buff?
"Shu... can our memories be restored?" Mei asked Shu, looking worriedly at the conflicting appearances of Kiana and Bronya.
"Yes," Shu said firmly. "We won't forget each other forever."
He would do everything in his power to restore their memories.
"Then let's leave this place first. The problem likely started because of this place..." Mei sighed in relief, then suggested.
Kiana and Bronya also nodded. Even a fool could see where the problem lay.
However, Shu suddenly frowned, looked at them, and asked with confusion.
"Leave..." His pronunciation was even somewhat stiff, as if encountering this word, this sound, for the first time.
"...What does that mean? Is it a verb?"